When comparing Google Camera vs VSCO, the Slant community recommends Google Camera for most people. In the question“What are the best photography apps for Android?”Google Camera is ranked 2nd while VSCO is ranked 5th. The most important reason people chose Google Camera is:

A recently added feature to Google Camera, Lens Blur gives you the SLR like function of creating images with shallow depth of field, or limited areas of focus. Basically, lens blur will only blur the background in order to put more emphasis on an object.

Pros

Pro

Lens Blur

A recently added feature to Google Camera, Lens Blur gives you the SLR like function of creating images with shallow depth of field, or limited areas of focus. Basically, lens blur will only blur the background in order to put more emphasis on an object.

Pro

Simple clean interface

Google Camera has a very easy to use and simple interface, with the most important controls right at your fingertips. Google has redesigned the Camera app for every skill level of user, making photography more accessible to everyone.

Pro

HDR mode

HDR can be activated or deactivated with one swipe of the thumb.

Pro

Photo Sphere

Use Photo Sphere and Google Camera to create three hundred and sixty degree panoramic photos easily. Photo Sphere photo images allow the viewer to move around within the world you have created, move up, down, left or right to see everything. Photo Sphere also gives you the tools to create your own Google Maps street view and share it with other Maps users.

Pro

It is free

It's free if you have one of the supporting devices (Google Nexus or Pixel).

Pro

Support panorama shots

Which is also supported by the Android stock camera.

Pro

In-camera professional photography tools

You can set up exposure, aperture, focus, warmth, brilliance, shutter speed, etc. before taking the shot.

In other words, while there are great photo editing tools and filters available with maximum customization for creating great pictures, this is one camera app that is actually more of a camera app than a filter app.

Pro

15 in app tools

This app has many of the tools users expect and more. These include exposure, temperature, contrast, saturation, sharpening, and more.

Pro

Option to tap any part of the screen to take a photo

With VSCO cam, a mode can be selected where a photo can be taken by touching anywhere on the screen, not just one specific button.

Pro

In-app camera roll

The VSCO camera roll can be kept separate from the primary one, or combined.

Pro

Adjustable filter intensity

Any filter can be applied on a scale of 1-12 and filters can be applied in layers over each other.

Pro

Very clean feeling interface

The VSCO cam has a minimalistic approach to the interface. The color scheme is mostly black and grey, and many buttons don't have labels.

Pro

Optional social network

VSCO Cam has an in-app sharing platform, but it doesn't force users to join. For those who opt in, the experience is much like Instagram but without spammy likes or ads.

Pro

Social media integration

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Cons

Con

Limited device support - Only available for Google Nexus and Pixel

In 2016 they stop providing Google camera for non google devices. You can download APK and install. But it crashes and most likely the video camera will not work.

Con

Photo Sphere does not work on all CPUs

For example, Android-Lenny 4.4 does not support this.

Con

Requires Android 4.4+ (KitKat)

The Google Camera app system requirements do require Android 4.4 (KitKat) or better, as a result this does leave out a lot of older phones and tablets. The app does take advantage of features of higher end phones, so you will need to upgrade if your device has an older version of Android.

Con

Lack of direction

Instead of doing a great job at one thing, this app spreads the focus over a number of mediocre features. Overall, everything is good, but this app doesn't stand out.

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